Locus tells Rickert he wants to show him something, since he's a former "wing" of the Band of the Falcon. The place where the countless monsters that form the Demon Royal Guard live, and that the human guards can't even approach because they're too afraid of it. Rickert recalls Irvine and Zodd, and Locus notices that Rickert already seems familiar with what the Demon Soldiers are to some extent. He then asks him why he wants to see the Falcon. Rickert is hesitant to answer, but Locus assures him that he doesn't have any hidden intentions. He wonders aloud if it's merely to renew their old friendship, or maybe to ask for help about living in the castle town, or even both... Or maybe to ask what happened under the black sun on that day...

Rickert asks him how he could know, and Locus says it's a simple inference... He was a "wing" of the previous Band of the Falcon, but there's no aura of the Brand on him. That means that he could avoid the consequence of the ceremony at the time. And then it's only normal that he'd want to ask him what happened on that day, where his companions disappeared to. Rickert says that he already knows the answer. Thinks back to what Guts told him on the Hill of Swords. Locus deduces that he must want to hear it from the mouth of the Falcon himself. He asks him if he expects Griffith to say so while being overwhelmed with regret? But he comments that at least, to him Rickert's eyes do not seem to be filled with hatred. That also reminds Rickert of what Guts told him back then, about how he could not hate Griffith.

Locus comments that there's a big difference between knowing something and feeling it. And that before he decides whether to ask Griffith or not, he should see for himself. See what the talons of the Falcon of Light are now. They proceed to the lair of the apostles. Locus explains to him that they are the Demon Soldiers. Overly bellicose in general. Tells him that they transport all the monsters they capture inside of the castle. It can be said that by doing that they're always training for battle, but the truth is they just crave blood and slaughter (meanwhile we see Volkov goring an ogre in an arena, but not without getting wacked on the head in the process). Rickert feels like this is like a scene from hell. He comments that Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Falcon to get these monsters. Locus tells him that they were originally human. That they were reborn through very intense tenacity (their will to live) and causality. That they are apostles.

He further adds that if the Falcon of Light wasn't leading them, they'd merely be pursuing their own desires, being enemies to the human world. Monsters hated, feared and avoided at all costs. But that the Falcon of Light gathered them and made them into a sword. That he made them get along with the humans, made them into monstrous protectors for the human world. That he gave them, who were outsiders, a place to stay. Locus adds that though battles can't be avoided in this new world, at least there's no battle between humans. Humans only wield swords to protect other humans. And that though death can't be avoided, people are not afraid of death anymore, because they have seen that the soul is immortal. He concludes by saying that this is a real utopia that no great king had ever been able to create before in this world. That it's what the Falcon of Light has brought to humans. And it's called Falconia.

Next episode will probably have Rickert meeting Griffith at last. No doubt he'll be quite relaxed after that nice warming up with Locus.

I like that Locus is telling the story from the monsters point of view. Almost makes me feel for them. Them trying to find a place for their own and Griffith being there to unite both groups, the humans and apostles.

I don't know if it's the way you summerized it or if Locus actually tells it that way.

Love all the shots in the episode. Really great stuff. The episode title is "万魔殿", which means "Abode of all/many demons". "Pandemonium" is a suitable alternative.

Anyway, poor Daiba really looks his age these days. Yelling at kids to get away from his barn. Although he does use a small spell on Erica so that she'd help with his chores (not unlike what Schierke did to Isidro when they first met), so he's not completely helpless. At least he seems to have mellowed quite a bit since Ganishka's death. Anyway, Rickert's work is coming in handy for him. And Locus really is as creepy as ever.

On a side note, for some reason the cut from the hellish-looking door to the apostle's lair to Daiba's face in the crack of the barn's doors reminded me of episode 295, when Daiba runs away from the temple and you see Ganishka's monstrous face(s) peering from inside.

This speech Locus gives about Griffith and the Apostles makes me think of Mozgus and his disciples, specifically the way the Bird-masked Disciple described how Mozgus had given them a place in the world. On another note, I wonder if having astral creatures within the castle will work against their favor at some point in the future.

Such Genius story telling. Miura always surprises me, even when I expect him to continually deliver the best. The man really knows how to spend time and attention on the details that fans seem to completely minimalize or gloss over when they are anticipating what the next handful of episodes might hold.

That's some amazing character interaction that I've been waiting for! Rickert talking to Locus, Luca and Daiba having a "wait a minute!" moment together. I'm still on the edge of my seat waiting for the Griffith talk, but this was a good episode.

One thing that's also interesting about this episode is the reason Owen has to leave in the beginning. The guards tell him that there are intruders in the castle. That two guards were knocked out. Owen seems pretty surprised that anyone would attack the castle. I'm thinking that there aren't too many entities that could pull something of the sort... The Bakiraka perhaps?

Anyway, it's interesting to see how even the architecture changes between the castle and the apostles' den. The decoration on the bridge looks like batwings instead of feathers, not to mention the actual building itself.

Locus really sells it here. I want to believe him, but man, you know this is only the beginning

He's just giving the party line. Honestly I don't find it very compelling from the reader's point of view. Avoiding battles between humans isn't a good tradeoff for having to live in a single place that's ruled and protected by monsters. And we already know that the bit about the soul being immortal is a scam as well.

So we can assume there's more to the dome than the arena, since all the apostles and captured monsters reside inside? The long shot of the bridge, dome, and fog is definitely my favorite.

Given how big it looks from afar, how it overlooks the rest of the city, there is definitely more to it than just that (relatively small) arena. I'm excited about the possibilities, actually. Maybe there's more than apostles in there. More... dangerous beings.

One thing that's also interesting about this episode is the reason Owen has to leave in the beginning. The guards tell him that there are intruders in the castle. That two guards were knocked out. Owen seems pretty surprised that anyone would attack the castle. I'm thinking that there aren't too many entities that could pull something of the sort... The Bakiraka perhaps?

Wow, thanks for the info. Yeah, the Bakiraka makes the most sense. What other group could make it that far in, and be perceived as a threat? It's nice to know there's some kind of resistance, even if it is pretty much small scale at this point (why else would the defense force be relegated to humans?).

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Anyway, it's interesting to see how even the architecture changes between the castle and the apostles' den. The decoration on the bridge looks like batwings instead of feathers, not to mention the actual building itself.

Almost as if the structure itself reflected both sides of Griffith's persona. I hope that's the case. The batwings certainly give that impression. Do you think other humans have seen this region of the palace? That mysterious fog... I wonder what that's about? Reminds me of the fog we see when apostles join their limbs, and when SK appears. Some kind of astral buffer?

Other side note, Locus' interest in Rickert from the last episode was revealed to us: he was curious, maybe even slightly wary, of what Rickerts intentions would be. He strikes me as one of, if not THE most devout of Griffith's followers. It's natural that he'd be wary of one of his former human comrades coming back. In a small way, Rickert was being vetted by one of Griffith's bodyguards.

I like that Locus is telling the story from the monsters point of view. Almost makes me feel for them. Them trying to find a place for their own and Griffith being there to unite both groups, the humans and apostles.

I don't know if it's the way you summerized it or if Locus actually tells it that way.

This preview made me want the main apostles to survive the story. I really don't want Locus, Zodd , Irvine and Grunbeld to die

Like Aazealh said, it's certainly interesting to hear an apostle's take on things in this way, but come on... it's hardly a sob story. It's a hollow rationalization full of holes and half-truths -- the kind of logic the God Hand used on Griffith during the Eclipse. Also glossing over crucial information. Oh yeah, all these terrible beasts? They feasted on your friends. Guess I forgot that part while trying to make this demonic charade sound like a noble crusade!

Falconia is a false solution. Humanity only needs a safe haven because Femto created this predicament in the first place. Providing a small percentage of humanity with a seemingly safe fortress while the rest of the entire world suffers is hardly a heroic effort. And that's likely only the tip of the iceberg of the God Hand's true plans for this new world.

Thanks for the summary Aaz. I love this episode! Always down for more time spent with Locus. It's interesting to hear his perspective on Falconia. The transition on pages 9 and 10 of the doors opening is brilliant. I too think it's obvious that's there's much more in the dome than just this arena which is like Aaz said, pretty small actually.

I've said it before but I'll say it again, I love this whole journey Rickert is taking through the Falconia. We the readers get to explore the whole place with him with the same wonder and awe. Miura is spoiling us truly with such effective storytelling.

It's always a good sign when the majority of the episode is shaded like an old fashioned horror comic! Fantastic.

Anyway, I feel like Locus, excellently creepy as ever, is trying to do Rickert a favor here with this little primer, tempering his expectations as far as the old Falcons are concerned and convincing him of the nobility of their cause. Basically, we already know what's on your mind, so don't ask those questions if you're not going to like the answers, because there's no going back.

I'm wondering if the "hellish" gate we see opening with Rickert and Locus, is it the gate for the arena or the gate for the dome? I'm more inclined to say the gate for the arena which means we did not get to see how we get inside that dome. Not that it's a super important detail, just very curious about it. Thoughts?

I'm wondering if the "hellish" gate we see opening with Rickert and Locus, is it the gate for the arena or the gate for the dome? I'm more inclined to say the gate for the arena which means we did not get to see how we get inside that dome. Not that it's a super important detail, just very curious about it. Thoughts?

Hard to say with any certainty. I was trying to identify what the significance of that pattern on the door was. It sure was ornate for a killing room like the arena. In terms of the layout of the palace, our grasp on the relation of things is pretty disjointed right now. But I imagine Miura will underscore those elements when it's important to do so.

I'm wondering if the "hellish" gate we see opening with Rickert and Locus, is it the gate for the arena or the gate for the dome?

As far as I can tell it's the gate to the building itself, of which the arena is merely a part. You'll notice that the outside door is quite large, dwarfing Rickert and Locus, while the door by which they enter the arena is human-sized. Futhermore, they enter the arena from the top of the spectator area, and we can see that there is also an entrance down below for the contestants themselves. That implies that they traveled a while inside the structure before reaching the arena, a moment conveniently left out of the reader's sight while we were with Erica and the others.